Guests aboard MV Sea Spirit, MV Sea Queen and MV Sea Quest, our Maldives liveaboards, regularly see whalesharks and we have a fantastic record for finding them. Our dedicated cruise directors, have been perfecting the art of whale shark spotting with quite remarkable success.
Here's a report from one of our Cruise Directors about diving with whalesharks in the Maldives.
"WHALESHARK!!!" The cry goes out and as the boat slows down I point to the dark shape just below the surface of the water. Everyone on board is milling around trying to catch a glimpse. The dhoni comes alongside Sea Spirit and a flurry of activity ensues-guests racing around grabbing swimsuits, heaving cameras and grasping snorkels, as we all transfer onto the dhoni.
On board there is more frenzied activity-wetsuits or T-shirt thrown on, fin straps pulled tight and masks strapped eagerly on faces full of anticipation. "There it is" I call from my eagle eye view on the roof of the dhoni. We move ahead of the whaleshark, and everyone slides gently into the water, even in their excitement remembering the briefing not to splash too much. From above I see the dark looming shape of the shark near the snorkellers and all motion stops briefly as those in the water get their first glimpse of this beautiful creature. As quickly as the motion stops it starts again as the whaleshark, moving at it's own leisurely speed passes the awkward snorkellers, and they race to keep pace.
We are very fortunate in the Maldives and find whalesharks on many of the trips that we run. We no longer scoff when our guests come on board and tell us they hope to see a whaleshark, but we can now honestly say that you have a very good chance of a sighting.
Most of our encounters with the largest fish in the sea have been in southern Ari Atoll, where we spend a number of hours trolling slowly along the reef edge seeking the tell-tale dark body shape of the whaleshark. Surprisingly for an animal this size, and most of the individuals we see are in the range of five to seven metres , they are not all that easy to spot. We rely on seeing their outline contrasted against the shallows of the reef. Hope for a sunny day when you come searching as it makes spotting much easier! We love our guests to come and help try to spot the sharks. "There's one!". "No, that's a rock, and that's a rock..." I think by now we know every rock along this stretch of reef.
Once we have spotted the gentle giant, we have a mad dash to get the dhoni alongside the boat, pile on and get into the water, while we have the whaleshark in view. Occasionally one will escape to the depths where it can't be seen, but most resurface in a short period of time.
We have found that snorkeling with the whalesharks, rather than diving gives us a much better experience and allows us an extended time in its presence. Our encounters can often last well over an hour, after which we have snorkeled quite a distance and are usually exhausted. When diving,the additional drag of a tank makes a huge difference when you are trying to keep up with a more effortless swimmer, and even the fittest amongst us couldn't stay alongside the shark for more than a few minutes. Snorkelling allows us to stay with a slow moving shark fairly comfortably for a longer period of time, although carrying a camera adds to the effort. Of course, if you find that the whaleshark is the winner in the sprint stakes, then simply wave the dhoni over, jump onboard and have them drop you back in its path. Easy.
We have a few rules which help to ensure that the experience is a positive one for all involved, including the whaleshark:-
Following these simply guidelines has allowed us to have many fantastic, prolonged experiences with whalesharks, and hopefully others will do the same to ensure that the whalesharks don't get harassed and simply dive at the first sight of bothersome divers.
In Ari Atoll it appears that a group of whalesharks stay in the area year round. We have very rarely seen more than one shark together, but have often seen more than one individual in the same area at the same time. Most of the sharks we see are swimming slowly in shallow water, sometimes feeding, but often they appear to be 'basking', or slowly patrolling up and down the reef. With the success of our whaleshark spotting we have just begun to collect data in order to identify individual sharks, and determine how many different individuals we are seeing, and whether we are sighting the same sharks repeatedly. Watch this space for more info!
Your first glimpse of a whaleshark as it appears out of the blue is sight you won't quickly forget. Just at the edge of visibility, a dark shape appears, coming into focus as it approaches. The dark shape turns into the white spotted body of the shark, with is smiling mouth, then the dorsal fin appears further along it's slender body, followed by the slow moving tail, passing you effortlessly as you fin like mad to stay alongside for as long as you can.
If you have always wanted to see a whale shark and would like to give yourself a change, take a look at our liveaboard schedules pages for departure dates and prices.
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